The Breaking Bad GQ+A: Laura Fraser on the Story Behind Lydia's Insanity

With only 75 minutes of Breaking Bad left, some questions are bound to go unanswered—and one of the biggest missed opportunities might be the backstory of one Lydia Rodarte-Quayle. Lydia (played by Laura Fraser) has quickly established herself as one of the oddest, most morally bankrupt people in the Breaking Bad universe—or, in Fraser’s words, "a very, very sick little bunny." We’d love to know how her transition from Louboutin-wearing ecutive to neo-Nazi collaborator occurred, but unless there’s a Todd-and-Lydia spinoff in the works (like a sick Joanie Loves Chachi), it will remain a mystery. Nonetheless, she has played a pivotal role in this final season, co-opting Walt’s empire, bringing the Nazis back into play, and now using a captive Jesse Pinkman to restore her blue meth "brand." We’re guessing she won’t make it through the finale alive, but unlike Jesse, Lydia probably deserves everything that’s coming to her. We spoke to Laura Fraser—a lovely, thoughtful Scottish actress with a big laugh—to get her own theories on Lydia (she may have hidden tattoos!) and the scoop on the series finale.

GQ: Congratulations—you made it to the last episode!

Laura Fraser:[Laughs] It’s good to be here.

GQ: That’s an accomplishment.

Laura Fraser: I know. I actually did not think Lydia would make it this far.

GQ: In the last episode, Lydia was pretty adamant that Walt’s family needs to die. Where is that extreme conviction coming from?

Laura Fraser: Well, she was always a little bit "off," and I think her moral compass is definitely wonky. She’s about three-quarters submerged in the underworld in this point, and she has less and less desire to escape the darkness that she’s in; she’s no longer trying to climb the walls and get out. And her decision-making process has just become demented. I mean, it’s just deranged. Trying to logistically explain it to a rational person is pointless, I think. Just go with it and enjoy the ride!

GQ: That’s fair. One thing that’s funny about Lydia is how easily she transitioned into hanging out with the Nazis.

Laura Fraser: I know! I think she must have always been a bit of a crypto-Nazi, and it’s all coming out now. It’s all coming out in the wash, as my mother would say.

GQ: What do you think makes her so comfortable in that environment, where she sticks out like a sore thumb?

Laura Fraser: I mean, you haven’t seen Lydia’s neo-Nazi tattoos. They’re more discreet than her comrades, but you might get to see them in the last episode. [Laughs] She has, like, a neo-Nazi tattoo on her ass.

GQ: Earlier in this final half-season, Lydia had everyone in the meth lab killed, but refused to open her eyes to see the bodies. What was that about?

Laura Fraser: I think she baffles herself. There’s levels of denial there that she’s not aware of. She wants what she wants, how she wants it. And at that moment when she was climbing the ladder after this massacre that she’d ordered had taken place—I think it didn’t occur to her, like, "Hmm, it might be a bit distasteful to me. You know, I really don’t know if I want to see this. Can they sort this out?" It’s all a bit much for her. She can do so much, but then that would actually have to face it, to face the blood. I don’t know whether she would vomit, or whether she’d just go, "Ugh." She’s a strange cookie. But anyway, I think it just occurred to her on the ladder that, "You know what? Actually I don’t think I want to see this." She’s a nutcase. I don’t know. She’s mad.

GQ: She’s such an interesting character.

Laura Fraser: Yeah! I love her. I’ve got to. No one else likes her! I’ve got to give her a bit of love.

GQ: At this point, we know we’re not going to get a whole episode explaining Lydia’s backstory. Where do you think she comes from?

Laura Fraser: Well, I definitely feel that she grew up in a group home, because—I think it was in Episode 505, "Dead Freight"—she mentioned to Walt that she didn’t want her child to end up in a group home, and how he didn’t have any idea what these places are like. So I assumed that she’d come from that background. I think her mother definitely abandoned her, because she has very strange issues with women. Her reaction to Skyler at the car wash was so over the top. If that had been a man, I don’t think she would have been as afraid; she was unnaturally frightened. She’s just full of fear. She’s always in fight-or-flight. I think she had an upbringing full of unhappiness and uncertainty, and I think she feels that if she just gets enough money and enough power, that she can be safe. But the fact is, she’s gone completely zany, and she’s lost the plot. And she’s never going to get that, I don’t think.

GQ: Is she in a situation like Walt, where no matter how much money and power she has, it’s never going to be quite enough?

Laura Fraser: Yeah, her greed is just trumping her fear. It’s just trumping everything. And I think it starts with good intentions, to save herself, to save her life, to protect her daughter and herself. And then she thinks she’s going to buy this imaginary castle and build up the walls of the fort and make a moat and be safe, and it’s never going to happen. She’s just becoming more and more reckless. And I think she’s a sociopath, but of course, she has no idea that she is. You know, she’s a very, very sick little bunny.

GQ: But she also has a daughter whom she obviously cares about protecting.

Laura Fraser: Yes. And I feel like that’s the way she justifies her behavior to herself; that’s how she can stay in her denial. She tells herself it’s for her daughter.

GQ: How do you think Lydia is different from Walt?

Laura Fraser: Objectively, I feel like Walt, as a character, was somewhat sympathetic in the beginning, whereas Lydia has had a very concentrated journey. She had one moment of being sympathetic, in that she was quite unusual and brave in her response to being nearly killed by Mike. And there was something almost dignified in that moment, for someone who is so nervous and irritating and annoying. [Laughs] In terms of being different from Walt, I think she thinks less about the game plan. She thinks more moment-to-moment, and he’s more big-picture. I think she’s more blinkered in her vision, because she has a lot more fear than Walt. That’s the biggest difference.

GQ: I’d just like to point out that chamomile tea with soy milk and stevia sounds really gross.

Laura Fraser: I know, that is disgusting! Why would you put milk in chamomile tea? I don’t get that. That should have been clue #1 there, of how deranged she was going to get.

GQ: Let’s say I bought a bottle of whiskey specifically to get me through the final episodes of Breaking Bad. How much of it am I going to need to drink next week?

Laura Fraser: You’ll need to drink all of it before it even starts. Just down it. But you should save a little dribble for the end.

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